Railway track cleaner



May 8, 1956 J. H. CARL 2,744,273

RAILWAY TRACK CLEANER Filed June 16, 1952 United States Patent O RAILWAY TRACK CLEANER .lohn H. Carl, Syracuse, N. Y.

Application June 16, 1952, Serial No. 293,749 l'claim. (C1. 15-55) This invention has to do with a device for cleaning railway tracks. The tracks of railway sidings extending into industrial property are usually laid ilush with the surface of the yard and generally, the rails are of the flange type and the yards paved with asphalt, or the like. Frequently, the rails of the track have to be cleaned off and the groove in the rail flange cleaned out because of the accumulation of dirt and other debris which accumulates in the yard of an industrial plant. At the present time, this track cleaning is performed manually and if the siding is extensive in track footage, this cleaning operation requires a considerable amount of labor and time.

This invention has as an object a particularly compact, low cost, structure arranged for easy and lconvenient manipulation, the device being mounted on a pair of ground wheels whereby it'can be easily pushed along the track and there is provided a guide wheel arranged for properly guiding the device over the track rail.

The invention consists in the novel features and in the combinations and constructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like characters designate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a top plan view of a railway track cleaner embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational View looking upwardly in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view looking to the left, Figure 2, with parts broken away.

The device consists of a frame formed of a pair of channel members and a top plate 11. An axle 12 is secured to the channel members 10 extending transversely of the plate 11 and having mounted on its ends a pair of ground wheels 13 spaced outwardly from the channels 10. An arbor shaft 14 is journalled in bearings 15 mounted to the forward ends of the channels 10 and with the shaft extending transversely of the frame. There is detachably mounted on one end of the shaft a circular brush 16.

A motor, such as a gasoline engine 17, is mounted on the opposite end of the top plate 11 and is operatively connected to the arbor shaft 14 as by a belt 18 trained Patented 'May 8, 1956 ICB over a pulley 20 mounted on the engine and a pulley 21 mounted on the arbor shaft. The brush 16 is mounted in proximity to one of the channel members 10 and a rail engaging guide pulley 22 is journalled on the lower end of a plate 23 extending vertically and overlying the vertical portion 24 of a bracket 25 xed to the top plate 11. The vertical portion 24 of the bracket is provided with a pin 26 engaging one of a vertical series of holes 27 in the plate 23. The portion 24 of the bracket is also provided with a bolt 28 positioned relative to the pin 26 to extend through another one of the holes in the plate 23 and is provided with a thumb nut 30.

With this arrangement, the guide wheel 22 may be adjusted vertically relative to the frame. The guide pulley is formed with a radial flange 31 engaging the inner edge of the rail 32, and the guide wheel is positioned in registration with the brush 16 so that the brush en- Y gages and cleans out the groove in the rail llange 34.

The device is guided by a U-shaped handle bar 35, the lower ends of which are attached to the axle 12 in proximity to the ground wheels 13 and the bar is maintained at a suitable inclination by engaging a cross member 36 to which it is secured by bolts 37. The cross member 36 is supported by uprights 38 lixedly secured to the rear ends of the channel members 10.

A protective cover is provided for the motor 17 consisting of side members 40 and a front and top wall 41 of arcuate formation, the lower edge of which is pivotally mounted to the plate 11, as by hinges 42 to permit the cover to be swung forwardly from the motor to permit access thereto.

The upper portion of the brush 16 is enclosed by a guard member 44 fixed to the top plate 11, 'as by screws 45.

The device is conveniently manipulated by the handle 35 and guided along the rail 32 by the guide wheel 22 to maintain the revolving brush in proper relation to the rail.

What I claim is:

A railway track cleaner comprising a frame, a motor mounted on the frame at one end thereof, a brush ar# bor journalled in the frame at the opposite end thereof, an axle extending transversely of the frame in proximity to said motor, a pair of ground wheels mounted on the ends of the axle in spaced relation to the sides of the frame, a track engaging guide wheel mounted on the frame for vertical adjustment toward and from the same and being arranged intermediate one of said ground wheels and the frame, a circular brush mounted on one end of said arbor in registration with said guide wheel, and motion transmitting means connecting the motor to said arbor to effect rotation thereof.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 97,577 Wickersham Dec. 7, 1809 400,497 Shreve Apr.. 2, 1889 1,238,385 Bradshaw Aug. 28, 1917 2,205,249 Fitzgerald et al. June 18, 1940 

